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The differences between health and wellness instructors and fitness directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a health and wellness instructor and a fitness director. Additionally, a fitness director has an average salary of $53,238, which is higher than the $39,996 average annual salary of a health and wellness instructor.
The top three skills for a health and wellness instructor include home health, CPR and yoga. The most important skills for a fitness director are customer service, CPR, and kids.
| Health And Wellness Instructor | Fitness Director | |
| Yearly salary | $39,996 | $53,238 |
| Hourly rate | $19.23 | $25.60 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 76,451 | 9,837 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A health and wellness instructor or coach is someone who guides people and helps them set goals for their lives. These goals may be to manage stress better, improve energy, lose weight or even attain a certain body goal. You may be required to give nutrition and exercise counseling to clients as well as give advice on lifestyle and behavioral changes to help improve the lives of people.
A fitness director manages a fitness facility's operations. These operations include creating fitness programs, monitoring staff, scheduling shifts, and even managing the fitness center budget. They can also train fitness instructors and even hire and terminate them. They procure the equipment necessary and make sure it works well and is safe. Aside from these tasks, fitness directors must also be akin to the needs of the center, decide on solutions, and have the ability to motivate clients to follow the program that was created for their betterment.
Health and wellness instructors and fitness directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Health And Wellness Instructor | Fitness Director | |
| Average salary | $39,996 | $53,238 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $58,000 | Between $33,000 And $85,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Springfield, MA |
| Highest paying state | - | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | - | |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between a health and wellness instructor and a fitness director in terms of educational background:
| Health And Wellness Instructor | Fitness Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Kinesiology | Kinesiology |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Here are the differences between health and wellness instructors' and fitness directors' demographics:
| Health And Wellness Instructor | Fitness Director | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.7% Female, 66.3% | Male, 54.8% Female, 45.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 5.1% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 5.1% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 13% |